Presence of antibodies against rabies in wild boars.

Serum samples of 746 shot wild boars collected throughout Slovenia during the hunting season of 2005/2006 were examined for the presence of antibodies against rabies virus: 541 samples were collected in areas subjected to yearly antirabies vaccination, and 205 samples were collected in areas where preventive antirabies vaccination was not practised. Using a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), in 209 out of 746 sera (28%) the levels of antibodies against rabies virus were higher than 0.5 IU/ml and deemed positive.